Two of CWS's videos -- our introduction for builders and contractors, and our spot from "The Environmental Channel" providing an overview of the concrete washout problem CWS solves -- are now available on YouTube. Check them out at: CWS YouTube Video. (Special thanks to Reef Mowers of American Concrete Washouts for this excellent suggestion.)

Increasing EPA enforcement of the Clean Water Act signals a growing opportunity for CWS and its licensed operators.

In the latest major example of tougher enforcement, four of the nation's top ten home builders -- KB Home, Richmond American, Centex and Pulte -- agreed in June to pay more than $4 million in EPA fines. The builders acknowledged that they violated the Clean Water Act because of inadequate stormwater protection programs at their construction sites in 34 states around the country. Concrete washout waste was one of the common water pollutants cited. Both the EPA and leading homebuilding executives have indicated that they expect the decision to lead to much greater attention to stormwater protection among all builders. The homebuilders involved in the settlement have already committed to extensive stormwater training for employees, as well as more detailed pre-project planning to control pollution.

This latest settlement comes on the heels of a $1.3 million fine levied on Home Depot in February for water pollution at new store construction sites. Wal-Mart was cited several years ago, and dramatically improved its stormwater policies as a result. Several local CWS operators have benefitted from opportunities to help Wal-Mart properly manage concrete waste and wastewater at its big-box store construction sites.

CWS LANDS HIGH-PROFILE PROJECT

Congratulations to Roger Haftek of Haftek CWS, whose company began work on one of the nation's most-anticipated construction projects last month. Haftek CWS is providing concrete washout services for the World Trade Center rebuild project in New York City.

REMINDER: YOUR CONTRACT DETERMINES YOUR OPERATING BOUNDARIES

If you became a licensed CWS operator before late 2007, please remember that your contract defines a specific geographic area in which you are authorized to offer the CWS solution -- and, by contract, you are permitted to offer the service only in your defined territory (unless a one-time exception is specifically granted by CWS).

New operators who joined in 2008 are part of the "CWS 2.0" program, which is much less geographically restrictive. Your contract does indicate some areas in which you are not authorized to offer service, but you may operate in any area that is not explicitly excluded.

We offer a conversion option for operators who'd like to take advantage of the 2.0 program and immediately expand their operating area. Please contact Joe Capko at {encode="joe@concretewashout.com" title="joe@concretewashout.com"} or (916) 607-0005 for more information. Please also contact Joe if you have any questions about what area your current contract permits you to serve.

WELCOME DIANE WILLIAMS

CWS welcomed Diane Williams to the team as our controller last month. She is your primary contact for billing-related questions. Her impressive background includes more than 10 years experience in construction accounting, including experience with general contractors, sub-contractors and environmental contractors. If you'd like to introduce yourself to Diane, please feel free to drop her a line at dianew@concretewashout.com .

NEW FINANCING RESOURCE

CWS has established an additional financing relationship with 1st Source Bank for operators making large bin orders. They're experienced in construction and environmental finance and can pre-approve loans for convenience. Contact Diane Williams, CWS Controller, for more information about this exciting new option.

QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH

Q: How can I get more local regulatory attention focused on concrete washout pollution?

A: As evidenced by the EPA settlement with the home builders, enforcement is improving. However, it's not happening at an equal pace in every market. If you're not seeing adequate enforcement in your market, it's important to keep raising the issue at every opportunity. The squeaky wheel does get more grease -- and, the good news with government behavior is, once enforcement picks up, it tends to stay in place, so the threat of penalties becomes much more real to your prospects and existing customers.

Concrete Washout Systems' CEO Mark Jenkins recently wrote a letter to our own California Water Board that might be helpful to you in bringing more attention to concrete wastewater as an important pollution control issue. It lays out all the issues, so that our state officials understand the extent of the problem (as well as how we can easily and inexpensively solve it). We suggest you forward this letter to your own local authorities, with an introduction from you and your company as local providers of the Concrete Washout Systems solution.

Congratulations to Ted Honcharik, CEO of National Concrete Washout, who just last month provided washout services for one of the most significant recent concrete construction projects in California.

The foundation for the new Kaiser Permanente medical center project in Riverside, California required 10,000 yards of concrete be poured in just 10 hours. 1,000 mixer trucks were operating on the site at one time. Ted and his team were on hand to be sure that all the concrete washout waste was managed efficiently and in full EPA compliance -- with 20 CWS bins in operation at one time.

Got an interesting tidbit you'd like to share with other CWS operators? Send it along for consideration to gazette@concretewashout.com.

STORMWATER AD CAMPAIGN TARGETS REGULATORS

This month the readers of Stormwater magazine -- largely regulators and consultants -- will see a hard-hitting new campaign alerting them to the widespread problem of concrete wastewater mishandling. To see a copy of the ad click here:"The Construction Industry's Dirty Little Secret". (Note: this version is low resolution to make it easier to view online, and is less clear than the actual printed version.)

CWS recently settled the current round of litigation with Minegar Environmental. Both CWS and Minegar Environmental are prohibited by the Court from revealing the settlement terms. However, Minegar Environmental has confirmed the validity and enforceability of the CWS patents in a consent decree.

BIG SHOW IN CHICAGO -- WASTEEXPO 08

CWS had a strong presence at WasteExpo in Chicago this year. Mark Jenkins, Joe Capko, Sascha Cocron, and the newest member of the team, John Compognis, represented CWS at the waste industry's annual gathering. Interest among waste haulers in joining the ranks of CWS operators remains strong!

MEET JOHN COMPOGNIS

Speaking of John Compognis ... John joined our team just last month as our national sales rep. Feel free to drop him a line at john@concretewashout.com and introduce yourself. (Look for a more complete profile of John in next month's Gazette.)

QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH

Q: I'm thinking of adding some containers to my inventory. Are ramped or rampless more versatile?

A: Ramped containers are much more versatile, and give you a big competitive advantage in the market. Why? Because there are many kinds of concrete transportation vehicles that require ramps to use a bin -- including most concrete pumpers and stucco/masonry equipment. By maintaining ramped containers in your fleet, you'll be able to offer your end clients much more comprehensive washout services (and much better assurance of compliance with EPA regs). And you'll make their crews happier, too!

Q: I've been wondering, what type of sump pump is best to move water between CWS Water Treatment System containers?

A: Try a ¾ horsepower sump pump -- usually less than $100 at Lowes or Home Depot.

Q: I'd like to sell some of my bins to another company. What do I need to do?

A: The answer depends on your contract. If you're a 2.0 client, selling bins to another party is usually a straightforward process; we just need to be notified to ensure that the buyer is not in a restricted territory, and understands that he is bound by the same license agreement you signed. If you are a 1.0 client with a territory minimum and other contract restrictions, whether or not you can sell your containers depends on several other factors, including whether you have met your bin minimum and other contract terms. While we do not want to restrict the transfer of bins where our licensees can benefit, to ensure fairness, we must confirm that any such transactions would not result in a licensee falling short of its agreed bin counts.

"We've been hearing about the I-5 project for weeks now, about how it's going to be unlike any other road project in the US. And, some say it might be the most environmentally friendly project ever undertaken by CalTrans [California's transportation department]," said Karen Massie of Sacramento's News10. "One company in South Sacramento will help make it so by recycling all the waste from all the concrete [poured for the project]."

That company, of course, is CWS -- and, in the rest of her news spot, Massie provided an informative and accessible introduction to CWS. Her report emphasized how well the CWS solution protects the environment, how innovative CWS's patented technology is, and how "what started as one bin in Sacramento is now more than 3,000 bins nationwide."

Interested in how we obtained such beneficial coverage? While we're always looking for opportunities to promote CWS, in this case, the high profile of the I-5 project was very helpful. This project will disrupt traffic in Sacramento for months, and so is on the minds of every local commuter. A positive angle on this story was a welcome change from most of the current reporting.

Are you providing washout services for a newsmaking project in your area -- e.g., a project of landmark size, or with a notable environmental focus? If so, you could potentially secure a similar news story for your company. If you'd like a copy of our pitch letter to use in your own efforts, please let us know.

MEET JOHN COMPOGINIS

As mentioned in the last Gazette, John Compoginis recently joined our team as National Sales Manager. Prior to joining CWS, he was Regional Manager at Fibermesh, the leading manufacturer of synthetic fiber reinforcement for concrete.

As John says in his own words: "My career has been focused on the construction industry and in my new role, I will be responsible for driving growth for Concrete Washout Systems. This will hopefully be achieved by working with architects in specification work and with state and local agencies. We look forward to opening new markets and furthering industry acceptance of CWS as the standard for concrete washout. My wife and I currently reside in Sacramento, but will be relocating next month to San Diego county. We have daughters in college in the Bay Area."

If you would like to introduce yourself to John, he'd love to hear from you. Email him at {encode="john@concretewashout.com" title="john@concretewashout.com"}.

QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH

Q: Liners are a bit of a bother. Do I really need to use them?

A: Yes! There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's well worth it to use liners. They extend the life of your bins by almost 7x! And they make the washout process easier, too -- for example, if a user dumps a large quantity of excess concrete into one of your containers, it can be easily removed by simply removing the liner, avoiding hours of work removing stuck-on concrete by jackhammer.

Liners are also a key weapon in our fight against copycats. They help to differentiate our higher-end, patented technology from knock-offs that claim to do the same thing we do, but can't guarantee the EPA compliance, tidy and straightforward operation, and superior service our operators can offer. Conversely, deploying your bins without all of their intended features helps encourage bottom feeders to fashion a "washout box" from any dumpster they have on hand. This is something we must all work hard to avoid.

For these reasons, proper use of fully outfitted bins, complete with liners, will also be a requirement of CWSPro certification. They're that important.

Q: My competitors are making dishonest, incorrect claims about ramped bins -- claiming they're unsafe. How should I respond?

This is a very good question, one that many licensees probably face. At one time or another, we've all had to deal with unethical -- even sleazy -- competition.

Our recommendation is to take the high road: i.e., simply reiterate to your prospects that the CWS system is not only safe, but also the very best available solution for concrete washout. Spotlight the positive differentiation of our patented system versus copycats and low-tech, unreliable alternatives, without wasting time retaliating against the smears. In the specific case of safety claims, it can also be helpful to point out that CWS is involved with organizations like the ACPA specifically because we're so committed to meeting the safety needs of users of our products.

Your best prospects -- i.e., companies that are most concerned with compliance, and with running their own businesses professionally and profitably -- will appreciate your focus on what's great about our products, instead of what lying jerks some of your competitors are. (In fact, the more professional an organization is, the less patience its management will likely have for pissing contests.) And, while it may hurt temporarily to lose those prospects who do fall for "negative campaigning," they are probably not the kind of healthy, quality-conscious businesses that can really help your company grow more profitable in the long run.

Mark Jenkins, Jr, Mark Jenkins, and Roger Haftek - still standing after the five-day ConExpo marathon, with a little help from a ramped bin.

200,000 AND COUNTING: 2008 TRADE SHOWS IN FULL SWING

The tradeshow season is in full swing with three major shows already under our belt. While attendance at our repeat shows was down somewhat from last year’s record highs, because of our participation in the giant, record-breaking ConExpo/CONAGG show, we've already introduced our products to thousands more show attendees than last year. We’re especially pleased to report that there has never been greater enthusiasm for the CWS product or greater confidence that the regulatory environment is rapidly becoming more and more favorable to CWS, our licensees and the environment.

We’ve been pleased to have the participation of Roger and Patricia Haftek of Haftek CWS at ConExpo/ConAg and the World of Concrete. Brian Doonan of Atlantic Concrete Washout was a big help manning the booth at the International Erosion Control Association show in Orlando, Florida where CWS had the flagship ramped container on display.

World of Concrete (January 22-25) We kicked the year off with a show of force at World of Concrete in January! Attendance was down a smidge from last year's record total, but still impressive at nearly 85,000.

Growing interest in green building and environmental/regulatory issues was reflected by the addition of the "greensite" exhibit area. We'll be looking at participating in that pavilion in 2009. You can learn more about the show from their own press release -- just click here.

International Erosion Control Assoc, Environmental Connection (February 18-22) Over 2,000 influential attendees from across the country. Sascha Cocron and John Hall manned the booth and were pleased to have some face time with Nikos Singelis of the U.S. EPA.

CWS at ConExpo/ConAgg (March 11–15) Every three years (and you’ll need the time to recover!) ConExpo comes to Las Vegas. The world’s largest construction industry trade show features nearly every type of construction product available and drew over 140,000 people from around the globe as the industry readies itself for the next building boom. The consensus is that now is a great time to be investing in environmental solutions as these industries are expected to grow at a rate far in excess of the growth in the building industry as a whole.

CWS 2.0: WHAT'S THAT BUZZ?

So ... have you heard some buzz about the new "CWS 2.0," and are you wondering what it means for you? While CWS 2.0 describes how we're doing business with all new licensees, existing licensees can convert to the 2.0 format -- and, in the process, improve their competitive positioning and save significantly on their license fees.

We're going to meet with each existing licensee to explain the concept, but, if you'd like to learn a bit about it in the meantime, we've created an FAQ document that you can read here: 2.0 FAQ.

OPERATIONS UPDATE

Earlier this year, we welcomed Valerie Cornejo (email: {encode="valerie@concretewashout.com" title="valerie@concretewashout.com"}) as our operations manager. She's your go-to person for all things related to billing and ordering of new bins. (Yes, you read that right: bin orders are now placed through Valerie at CWS, rather than directly through a fabricator. This way we can ensure the best volume pricing for all licensees.)

If you haven't already met Valerie, drop her a line to introduce yourself!

QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH

Q: Can we use the term "EPA-recommended" to describe the CWS solution?

A: While our solution fits all the requirements of a best practice for concrete wastewater disposal, EPA does not permit any business to describe their products as specifically recommended by the EPA. It's fully acceptable, though, to point out that the CWS solution meets all EPA guidelines for a best practice solution -- and that it is tidier, easier to implement, more reliable and usually more affordable than other options.

Q: I've been wondering, should I skip using liners in my bins? Liners are a little more difficult to clean.

A: Definitely don't remove the liners -- they protect your investment! The liner material is 7x stronger than steel, and by our calculations they extend the life of your bins by about 3x.